Zažgal Island

That's not an island you should set foot on. Something strange happened there and you don't want to bring whatever caused this back with you.

— Folxi Windbreaker, Seafarer

Overview

Zažgal is a charred island that is believed to be under the influence of a curse. Across its surface one will see the burnt and decaying ruins of the once thriving fishing village of Prumessa, and the skeletal remains of its inhabitants, as well as what little remains of plant and wildlife scattered across it. It is now a surface of rock and ash that no wind seems to touch. From what anyone can determine, Zažgal is not healing itself. It seems that whatever happened to the island has marred it for perpetuity.
The island is located south of the The Golden Plains, the land of the Kingdom of Helia and the very place where the Kingdom's capitol of the Radiant City of Sol resides.

The Burning of the Island

No one is sure how this disaster happened. Once, a thriving fishing village had developed on the green covered slopes of the island once known as Lepa. The trees all bore fruit, and the grass was thick and cool. There were plenty of fish swimming about its shores and many birds who have flocked southward to the island from the Continental Island of Lluvia. In short, it seemed to be a little slice of paradise comparable to the The Verdant Archipelago.
Then one day, in 1216AGC, people on the southern shores of the Lluvia Continental Island witnessed a strange orange glow coming from Lepa for several days- people who were closer recall seeing the massive flames leaping up into the sky. Fishing ships and other craft sailing near the island and reported that the entirety of it was engulfed in a raging inferno. Too few survivors were able to be recovered by these ships. None of these survivors- the ones still able to speak about it- knew what had happened. All they knew was that a great wave of fire had quickly spread across the island more violent and sudden than a Magic Storm. The survivors barely had time to make it to the water with their lives and they never tried to save their things.
Investigation into the incident could reveal only where it started- a rather unassuming boulder. The boulder itself was studied and has been deemed to only be a rock that cracked under the heat of the inferno. The investigators seemed fine when the returned from their trip to the island. A few nights later, and they all had spontaneously combusted as well as anyone else who had set foot on the island after the fire. Understandably, people have regarded the island as being cursed and no one in their right mind has returned to it.
Several years later, when it was discovered that the island was not recovering from the burning it was renamed to Zažgal Island.

Theories

As with most mysteries, there are several theories as to the cause of the disaster on Zažgal Island. One theory posits that there was latent wild magic from the The Great Collapse that due to some unknown trigger had unleashed its remaining energy that resulted in the massive inferno that lasted several days.
Others contend that it was an experiment by the Kingdom of Helia, and that it was either a horrific failure or a horrific success. There have been attempts to pressure the Kingdom into revealing whether or not they knew more about the situation. Their answer has been consistent: they did not.
On a similar track to the previous theory is that it was the people of Prumessa who brought their doom upon themselves. It was no secret that the island was feeling threatened by increasing pirate activity that year and that they were looking for a way to defend themselves and their fishing ships. Additionally, increased illegal fishing near their own shores meant that the legal fishing ships of Prumessa were catching less fish. Perhaps they had attempted to make their own Helian Fire to remedy the problem.
Another theory, and one which better accounts for the long lived nature of Zazgal's burned nature is that a powerful mage had inflicted a curse on the island. No one knows for sure what slight could have possibly warranted this response. Some fear that this mage did it on impulse and that the mage will strike again.

Alternative Name(s)

Lepa Island

Type

Island

Location under

Continental Island of Lluvia

---

Reclaiming the Island

There are many who wish to return the island to its former beauty, but the cursed nature of the island is a difficult obstacle.
Some have tried to hire witches to lift the spell on the island. None have succeeded.
Others have asked sorcerers to counter the magics haunting the island or to cancel magic in the area altogether. None have succeeded.
Some don't believe that magic is involved at all and that one needs to tend to it as a garden. This approach has not been successful.
Even after this string of defeat, many remain who wish to continue trying. The particularly motivated are some of the survivors from Prumessa.

---

Common Flora

• None

---

Common Fauna

• None

---

Typical Magic Fields

• Igni(?)

---

Note(s) from the Archivists:

The fact that something that horrible can happen so suddenly and leave such a scar is not comforting in the least. - Archivist Savitri